Cauliflower rice paella recipe

This cauliflower rice paella is healthy, and delicious and only takes 25 minutes to cook. 

We’ve used cooked prawns which are usually cheaper than raw ones and help save cooking time too. Though shell-on, raw prawns will give more flavour, feel free to swap if you feel confident cooking with them. Serve the cauliflower rice with a leafy green salad if you want to make it more substantial.

Ingredients 

• 500g cauliflower florets
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 2 small red onions, peeled and cut into wedges
• 1 red and 1 green pepper, cut into strips
• 100g green beans, trimmed
• 2tsp smoked paprika
• 1⁄2 chicken stock cube, crumbled
• 3tbsp pale dry sherry
• 1tbsp tomato puree
• 150g cooked prawns
• 100g frozen peas
• Juice 1 lemon
• Small bunch parsley, chopped

Method

1. Pulse the cauliflower in batches in a food processor until it resembles grains of rice. Don’t overdo it.
2. Heat 1⁄2tbsp oil in a large frying pan. Add the ‘rice’ and cook for 10 minutes over a high heat, mixing regularly until starting to toast.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a second frying pan and cook the onions over a high heat for 5 minutes. Add the peppers, beans, paprika and stock cube to the pan and season. Fry for 5 minutes. Mix in the sherry and allow to evaporate before mixing in the puree, prawns and peas. Heat for 5 minutes.
4. Pile the prawns and vegetables on top of the rice and squeeze over the lemon juice. Scatter over the parsley before serving.

Top tips for making our cauliflower rice paella 

If you don’t have sherry you could use a dry white wine or swap for sherry vinegar. You might not need the full 3 tbsp and can reduce the amount of lemon juice you season with at the end too.

Jessica Ransom

“If you don’t like prawns, simply increase the other veggies or add some broccoli florets to the mix. Add the florets before the onion and other veg so it has time to char a little.”

In step one of this recipe you need to pulse 500g of cauliflower florets to make your ‘rice’. If you don’t have one, give our Ninja 3-in-1 food processor review a read to find out all the reasons you should invest in another piece of kitchen kit.

Ninja 3 in 1 Food Processor - View at Amazon

This food processor has three speed settings but for this recipe you’ll need to use the pulse function. There are also functions to blend, chop, pureé and mix which can be useful for other cooking and baking recipes. 

If you like this recipe you should try Slimming World's cauliflower rice and chilli. Our classic chicken and prawn paella is another great family meal or the Hairy Bikers cauliflower and chicken pilaf is a lovely healthy alternative to a takeaway curry. For something lighter try our Spanish prawn paella salad.